Change Management in a Crisis: Be Fast and First and Have No Regrets!
Dr Mike Ryan is the Executive Director of the World Health Organisation’s Health Emergency Programme. In response to the question what are the biggest lessons we can learn from the Ebola outbreaks in fighting COVID-19, he said on 13 March 2020:
“It's difficult. Sometimes we over-extrapolate from one event to the other and sometimes we don't learn enough lessons and we don't adapt enough. I think what we've learnt in Ebola outbreaks is you need to react quickly, you need to go after the virus, you need to stop the chains of transmission, you need to engage with communities very deeply; community acceptance is hugely important. You need to be coordinated, you need to be coherent, you need to look at the other sectoral impacts, the schools and security and economic. So it's essentially many of those same lessons but the lessons I've learnt after so many Ebola outbreaks in my career are be fast, have no regrets; you must be the first mover. The virus will always get you if you don't move quickly and you need to be prepared and I say this. One of the great things in emergency response - and anyone who's involved in emergency response will know this - if you need to be right before you move you will never win. Perfection is the enemy of the good when it comes to emergency management. Speed trumps perfection and the problem in society we have at the moment is everyone is afraid of making a mistake, everyone is afraid of the consequence of error. But the greatest error is not to move, the greatest error is to be paralysed by the fear of failure and I think that's the single biggest lesson I've learnt in Ebola responses in the past.”
At this time, Dr Ryan is emphasising the need for quick, considered, effective and targeted action. In addition, there are a few others which may assist:
Leadership by empowering others through change
John Maxwell in Developing the Leader within You said: “Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.”
As a result of time constraints, reduced capacity to consult in detail and diminished resources (to name a few), a considerable amount of traditional, reflective change management thinking has less application in the face of a pandemic and many fundamental principles need considerable refinement. Due its reactive nature, the traditional language of change management has to adjust to reflect that actions, often fast, are required in each of the phases:
Response
Recovery
Reconstruction
2. Think quickly and intuitively
3. Value contributions as currency
4. Trust yourself
5. Retain perspective and order, maintain empathy and well-being
In my earlier Information Graphic “Pandemic/ Catastrophic Event – Leadership in a Crisis”, the Leadership perspectives of Preparation, Response, Recovery and Rebuild were highlighted.
Drawing on my professional experience and international best practice in change management, I have prepared an information graphic entitled:
“Change Management in a Crisis”
https://www.slideshare.net/nwilsonsa/nigel-wilson-australis-chambers-change-management-in-a-crisis-03042020
Again, I trust that it will be of some practical assistance as a visual aid and in providing perspective. It is a Leadership visual aid and does not contain detailed content or legal advice but highlights the key concepts from a Change Management perspective.
Stay safe and well.